Harry sees 'favourite film' Zulu

Prince Harry went to the cinema to watch one of his favourite films tonight - a movie he watches "every single year" around Christmas.

He was attending a 50th anniversary screening of Zulu, which also celebrated the work of three charities which help wounded soldiers and children in Africa.

Arriving at the Odeon in London's Leicester Square, Harry told Suzannah Endfield Olivier, the daughter of the film's director Cy Endfield: "I watch this film every single year before Christmas time.

"Maybe once. Maybe twice."

As he walked the red carpet, Harry greeted well-wishers and at one point found himself in a lengthy embrace with a member of the crowd.

The film, which has been digitally enhanced to mark the anniversary, dramatises the events at Rorke's Drift where the British Army famously battled Zulu battalions in January 1879.

It tells the story of the 150 British soldiers, many sick and wounded, who took on 4,000 Zulu warriors - with their efforts earning 11 Victoria Crosses.

Ms Endfield Olivier said Harry's attendance at the film was "a validation", and before he told her about his Christmas tradition of watching Zulu, she said: "It's one of his favourite films so I'm told."

The film's release will benefit Walking with the Wounded, Sentebale and The David Rattray Memorial Trust.

Prince Harry has been heavily involved with Walking with the Wounded, taking part in the charity's South Pole expedition last year and supporting two previous expeditions as a patron.

He is also a founding patron of Sentebale, which helps vulnerable children in Lesotho, who face extreme poverty and an HIV and Aids epidemic.

The David Rattray Memorial Trust helps to educate and care for children at a number of schools in Kwa-Zulu Natal.

The release of the film, which will include never-before-seen footage, has been organised by Ms Endfield Olivier.

Prince Harry also met people associated with the film and charity representatives before settling in to watch his "favourite" movie.

The prince was greeted by a goat called Shenkin at the entrance of the cinema.

Shenkin is the regimental mascot of the 3rd Battalion The Royal Welsh, and he stopped Harry in his tracks before he made his way inside.

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